Re: [CH] Regional Pronunciations

jmlane@ibm.net
Sat, 14 Feb 1998 13:28:04 PST 

** Reply to note from The Old Bear <oldbear@arctos.com> Fri, 13 Feb 1998 14:54:24 -0500

Sorry I missed the original message, so am replying to both parts of this...

Kay espouses an extremely ethnocentric view of language. Including 
her own. From my view this approach is extremely ignorant and very 
unworthy of her, especially when you consider the depth of her 
chili knowledge.

There IS a pronunciation which is CORRECT for both English 
and Spanish. Period. What Kay misses entirely is that we no longer 
speak English in the United States. We do, as she points out, have a 
dialect, but that alone does not account for all the variations. Our 
language encompasses far more than English on one hand and is far 
short on the other. Now we could call this "American" but that would 
be most misleading as Mexicans, Canadians and Brazilians are all 
Americans. So, USian might be better.

Whatever the DIALECT, there is a PREFERRED pronunciation to 
be "technically" correct. In the dictionary, it is usually the first given, 
like the most common definition of the word is usually the first.

Be that as it may, there are general rules which you should follow. 
To say they don't exist, ignore them, might be okay in your own back 
yard where everyone else says things the same way. Yet, when around 
people not of your reference group, who hear you, and know better, 
you will be taken for being ignorant. Especially if you seem to be flaunting it. 

Kay might have some arguement if the word is not purely Spanish in 
origin, having traces of French or Indian, but with a proper name, like 
habanero or Herradura, she is flat out wrong. 


So, Old Bear, if you can't handle the silent "h" and the trilled "rr" I 
suggest you just ask for the tequila with the horseshoe on the label, 
smile and the bartender will realize that you don't know or cannot 
say it correctly, smile back and pour you a shot. Enough shots and 
you wouldn't be able to write it anyway.  It is the one with the 
horseshoe. ;-))


> In ChileHeads Digest, v.4 no.309, kay buie wrote:

> >Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 23:54:18 -0800
> >From: kay buie <kaybuie@softcom.net>
> >Subject: [none]

SNIP

> >There is NO Spanish Pronunciation.  Period.  Just like there is NO 
> >English Pronumciation.  Period.  What there IS are regional 
> >pronunciations and no single one is right or wrong.  It's like arguing 
> >whether you pronounce a certain word as "laBORatory" as the English do 
> >or as "LABratory" as we Americans do.  Neither one is "better" than 
> >the other; they're just regional differences.

> >Just so Spanish.  It is different in each area.  Castillan Spanish is 
> >one thing, Puerta Vallartan another and in Mexico City it is different 
> >yet again.  Even the slang differs from place so you have to keep on 
> >your toes. And I haven't even mentioned Central and South American 
> >Countries, etc., where still more variety can be found. . .


> I feel much better hearing that.  Being a native Bostonian, it has 
> always vexed me that my favorite tequila is "Herradura" -- with that 
> delightfully rolled double-r when spoken by most native speakers of 
> Spanish.

> Of course, in Boston, the pronunciation of the letter R is considered 
> optional, and as result I often have settled for the house brand 
> rather than offend a Latino bartender by so disgracing both myself 
> and his language with a Bostonian "hear-a-dehr-rer" vocalization.

> My problem was only worsened by the addition of conn chips and solser 
> or even just a glass of wine from Napper or Sonomer.

> So you can imagine what happens with simple chile names like 
> holler-peenyo or red serveener, let along more complex names of 
> spicy foods like jumber-liar and inch-hill-larders.  
>   
> At least I can now shrug it off as a simple regional difference.  Of 
> couse I will stil carry paper and pencil so that I can write out the 
> name of whatever it is that I want.
>   
> Cheers,
> The Old Bear
>   
> PS: You are invited to visit The Old Bear's Secret Tequila Cave at 
> < http://www.arctos.com/arctos/tequila.html >.  Just don't make 
> me pronounce Herradura.
>   
 

Jim Lane

The ten most powerful words:
If it is to be, it is up to me.